Stellar Systems Group

Quirrenbach, A.; Amado, P. J.; Caballero, J. A.; Mandel, H.; Mundt, R.; Reiners, A.; Ribas, I.; Sánchez Carrasco, M. A.; Seifert, W.; Azzaro, M.; Galadí, D.; Alonso-Floriano, F. J.; Dreizler, S.; Montes, D.; Rhode, P.; Stürmer, J.
Hot Planets and Cool Stars, Garching, Germany, Edited by Roberto Saglia; EPJ Web of Conferences, Volume 47, id.05006 (2013).
04/2013

ABSTRACT

The CARMENES (Calar Alto high-Resolution search for M dwarfs with Exo-earths with Near-infrared and optical Echelle Spectrographs) consortium, consisting of eleven Spanish and German institutions, has been established to conduct a radial-velocity survey of M dwarfs with the 3.5 m telescope at the Calar Alto Observatory. This survey will target ˜300 M stars, with emphasis on spectral types M4V and later. The CARMENES instrument is currently under construction; it consists of two independent échelle spectrographs covering the wavelength ranges 0.55 …1.05 μm and 0.95 …1.7 μm, respectively, at a spectral resolution of R = 82,000. The spectrographs are fed by fibers from the Cassegrain focus of the telescope; calibration is performed simultaneously with emission-line lamps. The optical benches of the spectrographs are housed in vacuum tanks and climatic chambers, which provide the temperature-stabilized environments necessary to enable a 1 m/s radial velocity precision.